Guard Your Heart

"I'm scared."
"Why?"
"You've stayed this long."
"What's so bad about that?"
"Because I'm not normal. I'm different."
"Maybe I like different."
Annabella grew up never letting anyone in, she would always be alone, and she's never trusted anyone other than herself. Because she's different than everyone else. Then again, everyone is different, right? But Annabella's ability has forced her to learn to never too get attached to someone, and to keep everyone out, and she doesn't plan on letting anyone come in any time soon. But, you know, there's always that one person who affect someone's life in some sort of way, and in Annabella's case, his name, is Michael.

1. Chapter 1

I sat in the back of the class watching everyone, gossip, laugh, and do everything a normal 17 year old would do during science.

You see the geeks, the goths, that one group of mean girls who basically resembled a bunch of Regina George wannabes, the jocks, and every once in a while you would see this group who looked normal, they looked like they couldn't be categorized.

Then you see me, the black haired, dark brown eyed, outsider who never said a word, who always sat in the back of the class.

I never made any interaction with anyone, which meant I basically had no friends. And that was something good. Well, to me. I didn't need to impress anyone, didn't have to be self-conscious, and I wasn't involved in any drama what-so-ever.

And it had been like that since I had started school. I would always be the little girl alone on the slides, or the last one to leave the class to go outside.

My mom would always tell me that I was different, that I was "Special", and that no one would understand me. She told me that I'm one in a million, but in my mind..

I'm a freak.

I learned the hard way that I was never going to be like the others, that I was never going to be normal. I was always going to be like this. I was always gonna be the freak.

I knew-

"Annabella." I heard someone say. And it instantly snapped me out of my thoughts.

I looked up and saw my teacher standing there shooting daggers at me with her look.

"Please pay attention." She said

I fixed my eyes on the board but all I saw were a bunch of letters. I'm genuinely surprised I have a B in this class. Because on most days, I zone anything and everything out.

And today was one of those days.

++++

"Good. Now try this piece of wood." My mom said. We were behind our house, and we were practicing. Well, I was practicing. We did this nearly everyday. She would take me outside and she would give me things to use my powers on.

She handed me this piece of wood that looked like it came from a chopped down tree. I held it in my hands and I did what my mom would always tell me to do.

Focus on how much flame your releasing.

Concentrate on your target.

Stay calm.

And most importantly, don't get distracted.

I soon started feeling heat slowly start forming in my hands. And I saw the piece of the wood soon start getting burned.

I focused on the wood, I knew what I was trying to do with the wood, and I tried burning it, without it catching on fire.

And soon enough, the piece of the wood caught on fire. I gasped as I dropped the wood.

"Annabella. You didn't stay calm." Said my mom. I sighed stomping on the wood, trying to put it out.

"I'm sorry, but at least I did better than last time." I said.

Last time I was burning a pile of paper we found at the junkyard, when I got distracted by sirens going off in the distance. And since they're one of my biggest fears, I jumped and looked to where the sound was coming from.

And when I did, I almost burned my mom's foot.

"Okay, just try again. Try turning it into ashes, without having it become a big fire." She said as she handed me a block of wood.

"This is gonna be a long day isn't it mom?" I asked as she put the block of wood on my hands.

"Not unless you make it, sweetie." She said as she stepped back.

I exhaled as I felt the familiar heat in my hands start to form. And I saw an area of the block start to burn.

"There you go..." She said as I concentrated on the block.

I focused on the amount of flame I was releasing, and I tried not getting distracted.

I slowly closed my eyes and thought of the block of wood In my hands, turning to ash. And a few seconds later, I felt nothing heavy in my hands anymore

I opened my eyes and smiled as I saw a pile of ash in my hands.

"You're getting stronger." Said my mom with a smile.

I smiled back as I looked down and saw my hands. They had a warm feeling to them and they were a weird reddish color.

I had gotten used to it though. I had seen this a million times. "Come on. Let's go home." My mom said as we started walking back to our house.

"Soon enough, you're gonna be a professional at controlling your powers. You're gonna be the person your father was one day, Annabella." Said my mom as we walked in through the back door.

"Mom, I can only imagine being as talented as dad. Let alone be a professional like him." I said as I sat on the living room floor.

"Can you start the fire?" Asked my mom.

"Yeah." I said. I honestly feel that This was the only thing I was good at when it had anything to do with mi powers.

I put my hands in front of the fire place and in 2 seconds, there was a perfect fire for a perfect fireplace.

"You know.." My mom started.

"You're father had to stay away from everyone too." Said my mom. I think she knew today was one of those days where I wished I was 'normal'.

Or that I didn't have an ability that could easily kill anyone within 2 seconds.

"The only reason we ended up meeting was because I chose him to be my partner Instead of Jack Smith. Which by the way, was one of the cutest guys in school." Said my mom.

I laughed at the last part.

I've heard this story a million times, but I would never get tired of it. It was one of those classic love stories. It was like beauty and the beast.

My dad called himself a monster, and he didn't think anyone would love him. But my mom wasn't gonna let him go that easy. She kept trying to get to know him, she would invite him places and she would always choose him for projects, and soon enough, they started getting feelings for each other, and then fell in love.

She told me that I was gonna grow up to be like my dad. She told me I was just like him. But female. I had his eyes, his hair, his smile, basically everything. She said she loved how every time I would smile or every time I would laugh my pupils would dilate. Just like him.

She would always tell me, that what happened to her and my dad, was gonna happen to me one day. And I had hope that it would too.

I sat there thinking about everything, school, my dad, my ability, what if something happens and I hurt someone?

What if someone finds out and they take me away and do experiments on me?

What if? That's what my life is filled with, 'what if's'.

I sat there, playing with my flames on the floor. I had managed to make small flames on each of my fingertips. And every time I would join two together, it would become bigger. I loved doing this. I love watching the flames dance across my hands.

"Annabella look!" My mom said. I extinguish my flame and got up. I walked over to the window my mom was at and looked out.

"A new family moved in." I said as I saw a woman, who I labeled as the mom, a man, who was most likely the dad, and then, a guy, with bright red hair and piercings came out of the red truck.

And once he did, I was speechless.

Wow. He's, wow. He's beautiful.

No. Stop it Annabella. Just quit. You're gonna regret it later if you get involved with him. Just ignore him like everyone else.